A 37-year-old Carson City woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and prescription drugs without a prescription, among other charges after she was stopped for driving without headlights.
Ginnie Lorraine Heidt also faces misdemeanor charges of not having a valid driver's license and possession of drug paraphernalia. She's being held in the Carson City Jail on $6,436 bail.
According to the arrest report Carson City Sheriff's Office deputies observed a Lexus driving northbound at 10:11 p.m. on Carson Street without headlights. The officer stopped the woman and could smell an odor of alcohol coming from her as she spoke. The officer asked the woman if she had been drinking and she said she had half of a shot from a glass.
The officer asked the woman if she would submit to a series of standard field sobriety tests. The woman asked the officer if it was really necessary and the officer said yes, according to the arrest report.
She was helped out of the vehicle where she could not completed the walk and turn or the one leg stand due to physical limitations, the arrest report states. She completed what she could do and then blew below a .08 on the preliminary breath test.
The officer asked the woman if she had taken any illegal drugs and the woman said "yes, no wait, two days ago," the arrest report states. The officer asked her if it was meth and the woman replied yes, the arrest report states. The officer asked if she would allow a K9 to search the vehicle.
The woman then asked the officer whether the dog would find drugs that once had been in car but aren't there anymore, the arrest report states. The officer said there is a possibility that the dog would still alert to the odor. The woman then said she would not consent to a search. The officer told the woman that he would do an exterior sniff of the vehicle with the dog and that if he were to alert, the officer would search the vehicle based on the dog's alert.
The woman again asked the officer if this was necessary and asked why he couldn't just let her go. The K9 began his sniff at the front of the vehicle and got to the driver's door and sniffed the lower driver door seam of the car then went up the open window of the vehicle and inhaled deeply. The dog, after sniffing, then sat, which is an indication that he had sniffed one of the 5 narcotic odors he is trained and certified on, the arrest report states.
The woman was asked if she had any drugs on her and she stated she didn't. The officer asked the woman if she would empty her pockets and she did. The woman emptied her left pocket and then her right. She pulled some money out of her left pocket and nothing out of her right, the arrest report states. She then put her money back in her left pocket and then kept reaching and shoving her hand into her right pocket, the report states.
The officer asked the woman to stop reaching in her pocket. She did not stop and the officer grabbed her right hand and pulled it away from her pocket. In her right front change pocket the officer saw a small baggie that was half in and half out of the pocket that contained a small amount of a white crystal substance, presumably methamphetamine, the arrest report states.
The woman was arrested at 10:35 p.m. on suspicion of meth possession. Deputies then conducted a search of the vehicle and the woman's purse where a clear plastic film container was found with a white crystal substance inside. A subsequent report was filed of what was found in her purse.
In other arrests:
A 36-year-old Carson City woman was arrested by the sheriff's office Special Enforcement Team on Thursday, 11:18 p.m. on a felony warrant charge of burglary.
Katrina Balzer, was also arrested on a misdemeanor warrant charge of contempt of court and possession of drug paraphernalia. A woman with Katrina faces misdemeanor charges of being in violation of pretrial supervision and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to the arrest report, An SET deputy was patrolling eastbound on Highway 50 in the area of Airport Road when he observed a vehicle traveling eastbound turn without using a turn signal. The vehicle then did a U-turn, heading westbound without using a turn signal. A traffic stop was conducted.
As the vehicle stopped, the passenger, Balzer, hopped out of the vehicle and attempted to enter a casino. The officer told her she was not free to leave and to remain in the vehicle, which she complied and returned to the passenger seat, the arrest report states.
The driver was known by the officer because she had previous entanglements with the law, and he knew her to be on Alternative Sentencing. The officer collected their information and identification and ran their names through a records check for warrants. Balzer's information returned with a confirmed felony warrant, burglary, out of the Walker River Township Justice Court and a misdemeanor warrant out of Carson City Justice Court.
The driver of the vehicle was confirmed to be on Alternative Sentencing and had been in contact with officers the previous night where she had a preliminary breath test of .07. Alternative Sentencing advised to arrest the woman for being in violation of pretrial supervision for that incident.
The women were taken to Carson City Jail where the driver agreed to take a preliminary breath test that showed a .016 BAC. While searching her purse there was a silver tin that contained a silver straw appearing to contain narcotics residue. She was booked on suspicion of violation of pretrial supervision and drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. Bail: $4,137.
Balzer was booked for the felony burglary warrant and contempt of court warrant issued out of Carson City Justice Court. Bail: $37,137.